Expanding your horizon:Becoming the next

mobile technology mogul Prepared and presented

by

Laban Bagui

(Why not? Yep, the moon is at one step away!)

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

What is this all about?

Welcome to Cape Town!!

If you have never been here before, that’s OK; nobody has really …

(Just try to ask your way around here …)

The software factory

Recently graduated… all of them are over 20 and nasty. That’s cool, isn’t it?

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

The Cape Software Factory

John Roodt and Roderick Lim Banda from the CITI café conversations

The people are sleeping in the chalet… that’s why they don’t appear here

Wisdom• First step: learn about yourself, your environment, the

software industry, and what people want, and start making a plan

• Second step: Get a degree and get into the slavery job that is the trampoline

• Third step: Connect with the Good people, Get experience, save some money, have fun doing those and keep on learning

• Fourth step: According to your plan, focus on a career, get to do the other things dreamt of, develop your own business, and enjoy

• Fifth step: Live happier ever after(Nobody follows these principles but only those who tried to really succeeded… and I

am still trying… must say that to believe is a corner stone to everything)

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

What is available?

• Startup CEO• Consultant• User experience • Call center & help desk• Documentation writer• Tester• Quality assurance • Developer (Senior and junior)• Software Architect• Business analyst • Project manager• System administrator• Etc..

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

The who’s who of the industry

• Web-programming• Mobile programming• eCommerce, Web Services• Software engineering consulting• Project Management• Government• WASPA, IEEE, CSSA, etc.

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

Fontera is a boutique mobile marketing and development company that has been providing best of breed, customised mobile solutions to brands, agencies and resellers around the world since 2003

•Mobile website and application development •Campaign management

•Bulk Messaging (sms)•Campaign managers (Systems)•Mobile social networking (Mobimii)•Chat services

ServicesProducts

Suite 403 The Regent19 -33 Regent RoadSea Point/Cape Town - 8005 Tel: 021 439 9059 Fax: 021 439 9234

Nike, Soccerladuma, CABC1, Lotus fm, Good hope fm, Ukhozi fm, edgars, Pam Golding, Daily voice, etc.

More wisdom on mogulism(Mark Fletcher’s 15 commandments)

1. Your idea isn’t new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.

2. Stealth startups suck. You’re not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.

3. If you don’t have scaling problems, you’re not growing fast enough. 4. If you’re successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you’re in that position, and hope

that you’re smart enough to not fall for it. 5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that’s really the case, you shouldn’t be doing your

startup. 6. Your competition will inflate their numbers. Take any startup traffic number and slash it in half. At least. 7. Perfection is the enemy of good enough. Leonardo could paint the Mona Lisa only once. You, Bob Ross,

can push a bug release every 5 minutes because you were at least smart enough to do a web app. 8. The size of your startup is not a reflection of your manhood. More employees does not make you more of

a man (or woman as the case may be). 9. You don’t need business development people. If you’re successful, companies will come to you. The

deals will still be distractions and not worth doing, but at least you’re not spending any effort trying to get them.

10. You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun. 11. Starting a company will teach you what it’s like to be a manic depressive. They, at least, can take

medication. 12. Your startup isn’t succeeding? You have two options: go home with your tail between your legs or do

something about it. What’s it going to be? 13. If you don’t pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you

do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time. Which would you prefer?

14. Startups are not a democracy. Want a democracy? Go run for class president, Bueller. 15. You’re doing a web app, right? This isn’t the 1980s. Your crummy, half-assed web app will still be more

successful than your competitor’s most polished software application.

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

ICSE 2010 Expanding your Horizon: becoming the next mobile technology mogul

Laban BaguiBtech IT Management

IT Master’s student at CPUTIntern at Fontera (pty) Ltd

Email: labanbagui@gmail.com

Skype: labanbaguihttp://www.linkedin.com/in/laban; http://laban78.wordpress.com;

http://lipembelief.blogspot.com

The end